Trapped
by Tell me you're still you
Summary: Rachael, a 20 year old with cerebral palsy, is stuck in a house in Atlanta when Daryl & Merle find her. My first fic so please don't be brutal.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: for those of you wondering where I got my inspiration from, I AM Rachael the only difference between me at my character is the age, i'm 5 years younger, & both my parents are alive. I hope you enjoy! **_

__She was going to die. That was the one thought circulating around in her head. 20 year old Rachael was going to die because of the cerebral palsy she'd been born with. It had only affected her ability to walk and her fine motor skills, she had never been able to write. As for her appearance and intelligence, she looked as any other woman her age would, except for her left hand, a muscle was tightened there and she was never able to fully straighten it without using her other hand.

She had been an A student, very intelligent, that was the worst part, being intelligent enough to know what was going to happen to her. When everything had happened, she'd been with her parents; they'd all decided to head for Atlanta. They'd heard it was safe. They were wrong, there had only been more dead there, and they hadn't stayed dead.

She and her parents had holed up in a house that had been clear of those… things, and her dad had gone out to look for supplies. "Lock the doors, I'll be back as soon as possible" He'd told them. He hadn't come back. She and her mother had reassured each other the first few hours after he'd left, but eventually her mother had gone after her father, giving Rachael the gun that was the only source of protection they had, locking her inside, and stating that she'd be back. She'd never returned. After an hour, Rachael had known her mother wasn't coming back, she'd allowed herself to cry then. Although she knew it wouldn't do any good. The two people that had been her only chance of survival were gone. Death was imminent now. Even if those things didn't break in, there was no food or water within Rachael's reach, unfortunately, her parents had decided to leave her wheelchair behind, as it was electric and hard to push once the battery dropped. She'd die within days. Just as she was coming to terms with this, she heard a motorcycle outside.


	2. Meeting Daryl

Her thought process had been interrupted by the sound of that motorcycle. It'd only been a few hours since she'd realized she was going to die alone; surely it'd take longer than a few hours without water to hallucinate right? At first she'd been cautious, but she'd quickly come to the realization that facing whoever was out there was better than dying here. After taking a deep breath, she started yelling.

"HEY! IF THERE'S SOMEBODY OUT THERE I COULD USE SOME HELP!"

"Did y' just hear somethin'? " She'd heard a young sounding man ask. "Come on, we'd better check this out.'

The door to the house she was in had opened a second later, revealing a _very_ attractive looking man and what Rachael assumed to be his older brother.

She'd gasped. "I didn't think anyone would hear me."

The younger man stepped towards her, "Are ya ok? " he asked.

She tensed at that point, she wasn't ok. Not at all, not after what she'd been through, but if the older man viewed her as needy, or a burden, she'd be left behind. This was obvious; she could see it in his eyes.

"I can't stand or walk, I have cerebral palsy, and I've been stuck here for almost a day now."

The man she'd been talking to had simply replied, "Ya got a name?"

" Rachael - my name's Rachael", the young woman stated, trying to keep her voice even , if they left her alone now- Oh God. She bit back a sob, not allowing the tears to come. She couldn't cry now. She steeled herself, and her face quickly became expressionless. She extended her good hand and he shook it.

"The name's Daryl."

The guy who had been at the door came over and said one word, "No".

"Give us a sec", Daryl stated, before dragging the man into another room.

She'd heard their discussion, "She'll just slow us down", the other man had said.

"She doesn't have anyone," Daryl argued, "she'll die if we leave her here, Merle."

"Not my problem," Merle said.

"Don't be a jackass!" Daryl shouted, before storming back into the room where Rachael sat.

Noticing the tense expression on her face, he turned to her, "Relax, I ain't leavin' you."

He found a car that'd been parked in the neighbor's yard, came back to where she was sitting, and picked her up bridal style. He then put her in the passenger seat of the car, put the seatbelt on her, got in the driver's seat & drove off, Merle following behind them.


	3. On the road

They'd been on the road for hours. They sat in silence for the most part, each lost in their own thoughts. She knew Merle was following behind them, that was what scared her most, the thought of the man who had wanted to leave her behind. She had Daryl though, and there was no doubt in her mind that he'd protect her. Her thoughts shifted to her parents, and for a brief moment she entertained the idea that maybe they had made it out alive.

She shook her head, if they were alive they would've come back for her, she wouldn't give herself false hope. She tried to muffle a sob.

Daryl snapped out of his thoughts, turning in the direction of the sound he'd heard, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rachael."

"Hmm?" She turned towards him, holding back tears; she was hoping he hadn't heard.

"Are ya all right?" he asked, a look of concern in his eyes.

She took deep breaths, trying to keep it together, and said, "My parents, I know they didn't make it." She paused, trying to keep her voice even, before continuing," I keep thinking of them as-"

She didn't finish her sentence, her eyes fixed on the horrific sight in front of her. Lying in the road, right in front of the car, was what had once been a boy. He couldn't have been more than ten, and she guessed that he'd recently been a meal for the walkers, as Daryl had called them. She was going to be sick.

"Pull over." She said, barely able to hold in the contents of her stomach.

He didn't ask why, one look at her and he knew. He pulled over, and after making sure the thing was dead, carried her over to the side of the road and held her as she emptied her stomach of what little food was still in it.

"Ya need ta be quick about it." he said.

In the back of her mind, she thought about how good it felt to have his hand on her back, supporting her. When she'd finished, he brought a water bottle to her lips, since her hands were too shaky to hold it herself, and helped her drink. He handed her a rag to wipe her mouth.

"Are ya gonna be ok ta travel?" he asked.

She leaned against him, "I'm not sure, give me a minute."

They sat there for a couple of minutes, but the peaceful silence was broken when Merle walked over.

"Why the hell did you stop?" Merle asked, anger dripping from his voice.

Daryl opened his mouth to say something, but Rachael cut him off.

"He stopped so I could get sick", she said, gesturing toward what was lying in front of the car.

A grin spread across Merle's face as he walked over and proceeded to kick it.

This was enough to make Rachael sick again, and she groaned before she started to vomit, with Daryl just holding her.

When she finished he brought the water up to her lips and she drank again. She looked directly at Merle, "You're an ass!" she spat.

Daryl cracked a smile, it was the first time he'd heard her swear, and he kinda liked it. He put her back in the car, careful not to move her too fast after she'd just gotten sick, and drove off, Merle following behind them once again. After awhile he turned to her.

"Why'd you do it?" he asked.

"Why'd I do what?"

"No one but me ever talks to Merle like that" he explained.

She laughed slightly, "I figured you'd protect me if he tried anything"

He blushed slightly and said, "Ya figured right, I woulda protected ya." He kept driving until they spotted a makeshift camp.


	4. Meeting the others

When they arrived at the camp, the first person they met was a dark haired man who introduced himself as Shane. They both disliked him instantly, even more so when he openly told them that Rachael wasn't allowed in the group.

You two look like you could protect the group, but she'll just be a liability." he stated.

Daryl was seething. He saw the look of panic in Rachael's eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm gonna go get her a chair, and when I come back we're gonna talk about why she's goin' ta stay here," his voice dropped to a low growl, "**No matter what.**"

With that, he picked her up and set her in the closest chair he could find. Noticing the expression of fear on her face, he said in a voice too low for the others to hear, "Ya know I won't let anything happen ta ya."

She was still uneasy. "Daryl, there are at least two men here who don't want me here, and one of them is your brother." She tried to keep the fear out of her voice.

Daryl tensed, it didn't matter that Merle didn't want this girl; he would do whatever it took to protect her.

"Listen to me woman." He'd meant it to sound slightly threatening in order to get her to pay attention, but she smiled slightly. "When I said I wasn't leavin' ya, I meant it."

They turned back to the group to discuss her fate.

"She's useless."

Oh great, Merle had gotten off his bike to join the conversation. This was the last thing she needed right now. She took a deep breath and looked right at Merle.

"I don't think they want an opinion from somebody who goes around kicking dead walkers for entertainment, they might think that makes you unbalanced ." she stated dryly.

Merle glared at her. Who'd have known what he did yesterday would come back to bite him on the ass?

Daryl chuckled. Damn, this girl could hold her own.

A man and his timid looking wife and daughter stepped out of their tent.

"They're not staying." the man said.

"Ed-"His wife started to say something, but he promptly cut her off.

"Did I say you could talk Carol?" He practically yelled the question at her.

She shook her head and Rachael snapped "You have no right to talk to her like that!"

Ed walked over to her and pulled his fist back, ready to hit her.

That set Daryl off; he moved from his place beside Rachael and punched Ed in the face, knocking him to the ground. After delivering a few more punches he stated," Next time I catch ya around any of the women or children in this group, I'll hit ya so hard, ya won't be able to get up."

They voted after that, with Merle, Shane, and Ed being outvoted by the rest of the group. They were all allowed to stay.


	5. Babysitting

**A/N: I just wanna let everyone know that with the exception of today, I won't post on Sundays, they will be my day off. Enjoy!**

They'd allowed her to stay. She almost felt guilty, there wasn't much she could do to contribute, at least not yet. She still didn't know how to shoot, she'd have Daryl teach her when-

"It's Rachael right?" A voice brought her back from her thoughts. It was a brunette woman… Lori… yes Lori, that was her name. Carol was standing with her; the same timid took on her face that she had earlier that day.

"Yes, did you need something?" Rachael was confused, if they did need anything, why would they be coming to her?

"We were wondering if you would mind watching the kids while we did some laundry." Lori replied.

"I don't mind at all, I won't be able to do much though." She gestured to both herself and the chair she was in with a slight laugh.

Lori gave her a sympathetic smile, all this woman wanted was to contribute, she could tell.

"That's okay, just make sure they don't wander off, and keep them company. You'll be fine."

With that, they both called over their children, told them to listen to Rachael, and

left to go do the laundry.

Sophia immediately asked to braid Rachael's hair, and she obliged.

While Sophia worked on her hair, Carl looked up at the young woman with a question in his eyes , and it didn't go unnoticed .

"Did you want to ask me something, hon? "

She asked, even though she already knew his question, kids always asked why she couldn't walk, it never bothered her.

"Uh, I was wondering…" Carl began, his voice trailing off.

"Why I can't walk?" she finished the sentence for him. "It's alright, I don't mind." She gave a slight laugh. "I was born with cerebral palsy."

"Oh, I think I learned about that in health class." Carl replied.

For the next hour they talked about various things, until Sophia brought up something that Rachael wasn't expecting.

"Do you like Daryl?" she asked.

The question was innocent enough, but it made Rachael blush. Seeing the smirk on Carl's face, she replied with a quick "No!" before turning to Sophia.

"Am I that obvious?" She whispered the question into Sophia's ear and Sophia giggled.

Lori and Carol came back from doing laundry shortly after, and Rachael was grateful that she wouldn't have to answer any more questions about Daryl.

"I want to thank you for watching them, we have an extra tent and air mattress if you need it." Lori told her.

Rachael thanked her, and when Daryl came back from hunting with Merle, Rachael motioned for him to sit beside her. Merle had walked off somewhere and she wasn't sad to see him go.

"Lori gave me a tent and air mattress, we have a place to sleep!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Wait, one air mattress? So we're gonna have ta sleep together?" Daryl asked.

Rachael blushed, she hadn't thought about that. This was gonna be awkward.


	6. Sleeping arrangements

Rachael felt awkward. She'd pretty much announced to Daryl Dixon that they'd be sharing a bed together. The silence was killing her. She finally spoke up.

"Look, if you're uncomfortable with this, I can always take the car."

"I'm not gonna leave ya out there with no one ta protect ya if a walker shows up." He responded, concern evident in his voice.

Merle came over then. "Look, if ya'll aren't willin' to sleep together, I could bunk with princess here." He said, a grin spreading across his face.

Rachael cast a disgusted look in Merle's direction. "Screw you!" she replied angrily. "You're sleeping in the car!"

Daryl chuckled. This girl always seemed to have a response to whatever stupid thing his brother did.

Lori helped Rachael get dressed while Daryl set up the tent and air mattress, and after they had been set up, Daryl carried her inside and gently placed her on their makeshift bed.

They kept to their separate sides of the mattress, though they were both facing each other, and soon they fell asleep.

Daryl awoke, shaken out of sleep by the cold night air. It was still dark out, and instinctively he looked over to check on Rachael. She had woken up too, and by the looks of her, she was freezing. They didn't have any blankets in the tent. Shit, he knew he had forgotten something. He pulled her close to him in an attempt to keep her warm.

"Tell anyone I did this and I'll kill ya." He said, wrapping his arms around her.

Rachael only gave a small nod in response, she was secretly enjoying this moment, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She was going to keep quiet about how she felt… at least for now.


	7. Supply run

**A/N: I'm so sorry this wasn't up sooner! I had a lot of stuff going on and I hope I didn't lose readers! Anyway... Enjoy! :)**

It was morning. Rachael awoke to the realization that she was curled into Daryl's chest, as she had been most of the night. She wondered what it would be like to press her lips against his- just for a second, but then she realized that would probably scare him off and instead settled for placing her good hand on his chest. She lay like that for a few minutes before he woke up.

"Did ya sleep okay?" he asked, moving away from her and trying to pretend he hadn't held her for most of the night.

"Yeah." She responded, praying she hadn't been caught with her hand on his chest. To her relief all he said was," C'mon, let's get some breakfast, ya look starved."

And she was, when she thought about it. Aside from the protein bars Daryl had with him that first day, she hadn't eaten much at all.

He carried her outside, and she was grateful when Lori handed her a bowl of canned fruit.

The woman had quickly become a close friend of hers, and she wondered why someone as friendly and good natured as Lori would end up with someone like Shane in the first place. She supposed it was because there weren't many guys in the camp to choose from, and she considered herself lucky that she had Daryl, even if they weren't "together".

Still, she had to give Lori some credit; she was incredibly tough after what she'd been through. Losing her parents had been hard, but she couldn't imagine what it felt like to lose a husband.

After breakfast, Glenn, T- dog, Andrea, and Carlos formed a group and set out on a supply run. Merle went with them, and although Rachael wasn't exactly heartbroken to see him go, she hoped he would come back along with the rest of the group. She didn't want to think about what it would do to Daryl if Merle didn't return.

Daryl was on a hunt, and would be gone for a couple days, and Shane had decided not to go with the rest of the group, saying that he had to stay and run the camp.

To be honest, Rachael was scared; she didn't like the idea of Shane being there while Daryl was gone. She knew that the first chance Shane got, she would be out on her ass.


	8. New guy

**A/N: sorry this is so late, I've had one heck of a week! I know that's no excuse so I hope this makes up for it. Also, just to let you know, this story will not follow** **_exact _dialogue and will include some minor plot changes. I hope this isn't a problem for anyone. I'll stop rambling so you can read now... Enjoy!**

Carl was getting a haircut from Lori, and Rachael was watching with an amused look in her eyes. They were sitting over by the area where they usually built a fire. The kid wasn't sitting still, clearly hating what he was having to go through. She turned to him.

"Come on hon, it can't be that bad."

Carl squirmed uncomfortably," You're just lucky you don't have to go through this."

Rachael smirked at his reply and turned to Lori. "After he's done I'm next." she stated.

Lori chuckled "You got it." she said, all the while paying attention to her son's haircut. She was just trying to trim it; his hair was getting longer than a boy's should be.

They all heard something then, it sounded like a car alarm.

"Talk to me Dale." Rachael could hear Shane yelling up to the older man on top of the RV.

Rachael called over to Andrea. "Hey, would you mind bringing me up closer? I wanna see what they're so excited about."

Andrea nodded and carried her to the chair closest to where the majority of the group was. Lori and Carl stayed where they were. The group was explaining how they got out of a clothing store thanks to a new guy that'd come along.

"A new guy?" Rachael questioned , surprised they had found anyone else.

"I guess that'd be me." The "new guy" stepped toward her and they shook hands, Rachael deciding to introduce herself first.

"I'm Rachael; it's good to meet you."

"I'm Rick, its awful good to meet you too."He stated, smiling.

Wait-did he just say his name was Rick? Rachael had talked to Lori about her husband many times, always telling her to never give up. His name was Rick too. She knew she was getting her hopes up, but maybe Lori's husband wasn't dead after all.

You're- is your last name Grimes? She asked hopefully.

"Yes, that's my last name." He was confused, how could this woman know that?

Rachael smiled, she was sure she looked like an idiot, but she didn't care. "I think I know some people you're gonna want to see." "Lori, Carl," she yelled, "come quick!"

They ran over, and Carl started yelling when he saw his father. "DAD!" Two seconds later he was in Rick's arms, sobbing.

"I'm so happy for you!" Rachael said, pulling Lori into a hug.

"I want to thank you, for telling me not to give up." Lori whispered, teary-eyed.

"You're my friend, if the situation was reversed; I know you'd do the same." Rachael said, tears beginning to well up in her own eyes. She was so overjoyed that they had all found each other.

Later that night, when they were all by the fire, one thought circulated around Rachael's head.

Where was Daryl?


	9. Breaking the news

**A/N: I wanna let you know that I'm gonna try to post multiple times a week, but not every day. I'm sorry, I tried and it's impossible for me to do with my schedule Please enjoy this chapter! :) **

It was awhile before Daryl came back. When he did, the rest of the group was preoccupied with a walker that was eating a deer fairly close to the camp. The kids had screamed, alerting everyone to its presence.

After making sure Carl was alright, Lori turned her attention to the walker.

Andrea had carried Rachael over to the scene, and looking at the deer, the young woman guessed that it was the same one Daryl had been hunting for weeks.

"Shit!" Rachael moaned. "How are we gonna tell him?"

"About the deer?" Glenn questioned.

"Among other things." She stated.

When she turned to Rick and saw the look on his face, she said," I know you did what you had to, I just worry about how he's gonna take this."

Shane stepped closer to where Rachael was.

"I think you should be the one to tell him." He told her, subtle venom dripping from his voice.

"Shane-"Lori started, but Rachael cut her off.

"No," she began, just as Dale cut off the head of the walker. "For once he's right." She shot a pointed look at Shane. "I need to do this."

They didn't have to wait long, Daryl came through the forest soon after, clearly unhappy about the buck.

"Son of a bitch! That's my deer!"

He stopped his rant when he saw Rachael's face; she was clearly uncomfortable about something.

Rachael took a deep breath, and then began. "I-I have to tell you about something…" God, she hoped he wouldn't hate her after this.

Daryl paused, she was scaring him and it wasn't because of what she was saying, all the color had drained from her face.

"Hold on, let's get ya sittin' down first."

He gently took her from Andrea and carried her to a chair near the spot they used for a fire, and she wished she could just stay in his arms and not have to tell him at all.

"They found Rick, Lori's husband while they were gone."

She took another deep breath, searching for the right words, and then continued.

"Merle had a gun pointed at several people, and Rick had no choice but to handcuff him to the roof."

She waited for a nod from T-dog before she told him the rest. "T- Dog dropped the key to the handcuffs down a grate, and… they couldn't get Merle off the roof."

She shrank back; she was so worried that he hated her now.

His anger wasn't directed at her however, but at Rick. He was just about to make a move for him, when Rachael grabbed his arm, holding him in place.

"You have every right to be angry, you do." She told him. "But they're getting a group together to go back and find him, and I think I should go too."

"No." he looked directly at her when he said it.

She looked down, he hated her. He really hated her- her thoughts were cut off when he spoke again.

"I ain't losing you too."

She wanted to cry, his words only made her want him more, and she was terrified he wouldn't come back.

After the supplies were gathered, Rick came over to where Rachael and Lori were sitting.

"I will come back, and I will bring him back with me." He put a hand on each of their shoulders.

Both women hugged him, then each other, and prayed he was right.


	10. Fish fry

**A/N: Just to let you guys know, this chapter is extra long to make up for the time between posts. Oh, and if you guys are interested, my friend PrintDust has written some great walking dead fics for you to check out. enjoy this chapter!**

They would be fine. She trusted Rick, and she knew they would come back safe. They had to… Daryl had to.

"Dale, have you seen Carl?" Lori's nearby voice snapped Rachael out of her thoughts.

"Shane took him down to the quarry." Dale replied, smiling a little. "There was some mighty bold talk about catching frogs."

Lori sighed and turned to go get her son.

A few minutes later Carl came back to camp and Rachael noticed the unhappy look on his face. Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there something wrong hon?" She asked, hoping she could make things better.

Carl sighed and turned towards her. "I don't know why my mom's so mad about me hanging out with Shane."

"Hon, it's just…"

She frowned, this was something for Carl and Lori to discuss, but she couldn't stand the look on the poor kid's face.

"Look, it's nothing you need to worry about, she's not mad at you, I promise."

Lori came over to where Rachael was sitting shortly after. Carl had gone off to play with Sophia earlier, and Rachael was grateful for the opportunity to talk to her friend about what had happened without the child overhearing.

"Hey, you okay?" She placed her good hand on Lori's shoulder.

"After what he did, I just don't want him around my family…" Lori replied." Or my friends, I don't trust him anymore."

The look on her face was heartbreaking.

"I'm so sorry." Rachael pulled her into a hug.

"I just wanna focus on things with Rick." Lori stated.

"Carl came to me wondering why you were upset about him being around Shane." Rachael began. "I told him you weren't mad at him, but I think he'd feel better if he heard it from you. "

Lori nodded. "Thanks for letting me know."

Rachael shrugged. "No problem."

They turned and saw Amy and Andrea coming back to camp with at least 8 fish.

"Whoa!" Carl had come over and was staring at all the fish.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Lori said, shocked.

"Our dad." Amy replied.

"Can you teach me to do that?" Carl asked, excited.

"Sure. " Amy said, before turning to Lori," If that's okay."

"You won't hear me complaining." Lori told her.

Dale came up to the group then, a concerned look on his face.

"I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem." He gestured to the field where Jim appeared to be digging several holes.

The group walked up to Jim, with Andrea carrying Rachael and Lori holding Carl back at a safe distance.

"Hey Jim," Shane began, trying not to startle him. "Why don't you hold up man, just give it a second here, please."

"What do you want?" Jim asked. His voice was calm, as if there was nothing strange about him digging multiple holes for no apparent reason.

"Just a little concerned, that's all." Shane stated.

"Dale says you've been out here for hours." Carlos added in.

"So?" Jim said

"So why are you digging?" Shane asked.

"What's it matter? I'm not hurting anyone. "Jim was starting to get defensive.

Lori finally spoke up. "Jim, they're not gonna say it, so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son, and Carol's daughter."

Rachael didn't say it, but he was scaring her too.

"They got nothin' to be scared of." Jim said.

The situation came to a head when Jim swung the shovel. Shane ducked under it, and, having no other choice, put Jim's hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

A little while later, Jim calmed down and explained that he was digging because of something he'd dreamt, although he couldn't remember what it was.

After sunset, they had a fish fry, and Rachael couldn't help but notice the faraway look in Lori's eyes. She knew her friend was thinking of Rick. Rachael understood that, she was thinking of Daryl. She placed her good hand on Lori's shoulder.

"They'll come back." She told her. "They've gotta come back."

Lori just nodded.

Amy got up all of a sudden, and Andrea asked her where she was going.

"I have to pee." Amy told her. "Jeez, you try to be discreet around here-"

The rest of the group laughed.

Amy stepped out of the R.V., and Andrea turned her head just in time to see her get bitten by a walker.

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

More walkers were flooding into the camp now, and Lori gathered Carl and Rachael close.

Desperate, Rachael did the only thing she could think of… She screamed for him.

"DARYL!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Lori's main focus was protecting Carl, and she turned to follow Shane before casting a look back at Rachael.

"GO! KEEP HIM SAFE!" Rachael yelled at her. She hoped Lori would make it out of this.

One particularly persistent walker was getting close to Rachael now, gnashing its teeth, preparing to bite her.

She wasn't ready for this. That was the one thing she kept thinking.

It was inches from her, reaching out to grab her.

"DARYL!" She kept screaming for him, hoping he'd save her. She didn't know what else to do.

The walker almost had her- and then an arrow pierced its skull.

Daryl gathered her up in his arms, she was sobbing now.

"Are ya alright? Are ya bit?" He was frantically looking her over now.

"N-no, I'm okay." She was shaking in his hold.

"Take it easy." He held her tighter. "I'm right here."


	11. The plan

**A/N: Hey guys, this is another extra long chapter to make up for the time in-between postings. I'll try to get the next chapter up before Christmas, but I can't promise anything. So just in case I can't post before then, Merry Christmas! ...Enjoy the chapter! :)**

Daryl held her for most of the night. She tried to sleep, but it was no use. After the attack the whole camp was on alert, and every sound made her flinch. Her only comfort came from knowing she was in his arms.

When the sun finally rose, he carried her outside and put her in the chair closest to him.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked, concern evident on his tired face.

Rachael knew he must have been talking about Andrea.

"She won't even talk to us." Lori replied. "She's been there all night. What do we do?"

"We can't just leave Amy like that." Shane stated in a solemn tone. "We need to deal with it, same as the others."

Rick nodded. "I'll tell her how it is."

He turned to walk away, and Rachael called out to him.

"Rick, wait."

Rick came over to where Rachael was sitting.

"The woman just lost her sister." Rachael began in a quiet tone. "I think she's in shock. Look, whatever you do, just please be careful, I don't want to lose anyone else."

Rick nodded and went over to where Andrea was crouched beside her sister's body.

From where the rest of the group was sitting, it didn't look like Rick got a chance to speak before Andrea pointed her gun at him. He backed away slowly, and Rachael could feel Daryl tense, as if he expected the grieving blonde to attack the group.

She didn't move to attack them though, and the rest of the group began discussing what they were going to do about Amy's body.

Daryl was clearly annoyed with the situation. "You can't be serious. The dead girl's a time bomb."

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked, his voice a mixture of fatigue and exasperation.

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance." Daryl stated.

"No." Lori replied. "For god's sakes, let her be."

Daryl scoffed and went over to help Carlos move a nearby body. They were dragging it over to the burn pile when Glenn spoke up.

"What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there!"

"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl stated.  
Rachael looked over at Daryl and blinked back the tears that were beginning to form. They had lost so many people.

"We can't burn our own." She told him, her voice beginning to waver.

They dragged the body over to the other pile.

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!" Jacqui's shout got the attention of the whole camp.

"Show it to us." Daryl demanded.

Jim panicked as if he were a cornered animal and picked up the shovel lying on the ground in front of him.

"Jim, put it down." Shane's voice was calm yet firm. "Put it down."

T-Dog managed to grab Jim's arms, while Daryl grabbed Jim's shirt and pulled it up to inspect the bite.

Rachael forced herself not to vomit at the sight of the wound.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Jim had been released and was repeating the phrase over and over again, as if saying it would somehow make it true.

Later, the group gathered to discuss Jim's fate.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head, his and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl stated.

Rachael reached up to place her good hand on his arm.

"Jim is a human being and he should be treated like one." She paused to make sure everyone had heard before continuing. "I'm not stupid, I know he doesn't have long, but I think whatever happens it should be his choice. I'm not saying we should just wait around here for him to turn, but if he doesn't want to be… Put down, we could take him somewhere else. "

She shrugged, offering the idea up to the rest of the group.

"What if we could get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick said, desperately trying not to give up hope.

Shane quickly shot down his idea. "I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"If there was any government left at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs. I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-" Rick didn't get to finish his sentence before Shane cut him off.

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay?" Shane began. "Now if they exist, they're at the army base, Fort Benning."

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." Lori interjected.

"That is right." Shane replied. "But it's away from the hot zone."

"The military were on the front lines of this thing." Rick shot back. "They got overrun, we've all _seen_ that! The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

With that, the conversation was over.

Daryl was getting ready to put a pickaxe through what was left of Ed when Carol came up.

"I'll do it." She said, taking the weapon from him. "He's my husband."

Carol drove the pickaxe through her husband's head over and over, and began sobbing.

Rachael gestured to her, and when she came over, the younger woman pulled her into a hug.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out, and looking in the direction the sound came from, they all realized what had happened.

Andrea had put down her sister.

Rachael was still processing what had just happened when Daryl came up to her.

"Come on, they're ready." He told her quietly.

She nodded, and without another word, he carried her over to the area where they were having a funeral for the group members they'd lost.

The makeshift funeral had been brief. When they had lowered the bodies into the holes that were dug prior to the service, Andrea insisted on dragging Amy's body into one of the graves on her own, refusing anyone else's help. Rick had said a few words after all the bodies were buried, and then everyone went back to camp.

Rachael had asked Daryl to place her on the R.V. steps were Lori was sitting, and by the look on her friend's face that she was thinking about Rick's decision to go to the CDC.

Rachael was the first to break the silence.

"Hey, any word on Jim?"

Lori cast a sad look in Rachael's direction. "His fever's much worse."

The younger woman placed her hand on Lori's shoulder. "Rick will do what he can."

Lori just sighed and nodded.

"I want you to know that I trust him." Rachael told her. "I trust both of you. You two are the first people I've been close to since this all started. Well, you two and…" she trailed off.

"Daryl?" Lori questioned with a knowing smirk.

Rachael blushed. "Yeah, Daryl."

Shane walked up shortly after, and Rachael suppressed a groan, Shane was the last person they wanted to see right now.

"I need you to help talk some sense into Rick." Shane was talking directly to Lori, as if Rachael wasn't even there.

"Look, this CDC thing, it's a mistake Lori." He said lowly, trying to convince her.

Rachael spoke up, knowing Lori didn't need to hear this. "This is _not _your decision to make." She growled lowly, looking right at Shane. "Rick is our leader, and he's the one that makes the final call."

Shane glared at her. "Stay out of this." He spat, his words dripping with the venom he so often used when talking to her.

Rachael's anger with the man had reached its boiling point when Rick stepped out of the R.V.

"What's going on here?" Their leader stepped closer to Shane.

"Just talking about my need for a plan, man. So what is it, are we going or not? Maybe y'all just wanna stay here. We could hang some more tin cans." Shane suggested, trying everything he could to make Rick reconsider.

Rick sighed. It wasn't safe where they were, not anymore.

"We can't stay here. We both know that." He said tiredly.

"We were just telling Shane that we think we should trust your gut." Lori stated, gesturing to both herself and Rachael.

Shane turned to Rick. "Let's go do our sweep."

After they left, Rachael turned to Lori. "Everything okay?"

Lori looked down, ashamed at what she was about to say. "I didn't completely trust him on this, not at first."

Rachael put her good hand on her friend's knee. "Don't beat yourself up."

A little while later, the men came back from their sweep and the group gathered around the campfire pit for a meeting.

"I've been thinking about Rick's plan." Shane began. "There are no guarantees; I'll be the first to admit that. I've known this man a long time, I trust his instincts."

Rachael resisted the urge to scoff.

"I say the most important thing here is that we stick together." Shane continued.

"So for those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."

Rachael slept deeply that night, curled up against Daryl's chest. She was in his arms, relieved that they were finally going to be safe.


	12. Heading out

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the next chapter of Trapped. Love to see your reviews, let's me know you're still reading. Special thanks to FanFicGirl10, this chapter's for you. Enjoy the chapter! More to come...**

Rachael woke early the next morning, lying on Daryl's chest until he finally stirred.

"Hey." She shifted herself off of his chest.

"Hey." He replied, turning so he could see her better. She looked exhausted, and he sighed inwardly. He wished she could get more sleep, she was running on fumes, they all were. He kicked himself for not being there when the attack started; he should have gotten there sooner. He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts.

"Something wrong?" Rachael asked, hoping to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Nah, just thinkin' about things. Ya ready for today?" he asked, referring to the CDC. The group was planning on making the trip there to see if the doctors could offer any help to Jim, or at least safety for the group, though Daryl doubted anything was left there.

"A little nervous, but yeah, I'm ready." And she was ready, despite being more terrified than she let on. So many things could go wrong… No, she wouldn't think that way. She closed her eyes and told herself she would be prepared for whatever was out there, as she had been doing ever since she found out the group would be making this trip.

Daryl smirked. "Yer freakin' out about this aren't ya?" He chuckled softly.

She gave him a playful smack on his arm. "It's not funny!" She was starting to laugh despite herself.

"Well ya are!" He teased.

Rachael's expression turned serious. "I want you to teach me how to shoot." She looked up into his eyes, awaiting his reply.

He studied her face for a moment before finally responding. "All right, as soon as we find a secure place, I'll teach ya ta shoot."

"Thank you." She said quietly.

He shrugged. "It sounds like they're gettin' up; we should probably get out there."

She just nodded, and he carried her outside and placed her in the chair closest to him. The area was safe, for now, but he still wasn't going to take any chances.

The group began to gather around the fire pit, and once they were all settled, Shane spoke up.

"Everybody listen up." He began loudly, making sure the whole group could hear. "Those of you with C.B.'s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan."

There was a pause. "Any questions?"

"We're, uh, we're not going."

Every head turned in the direction of Carlos.

"We have family in Birmingham." His wife continued. "We wanna be with our people."

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane cut in.

"We'll take the chance." Carlos replied. "I gotta do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick asked.

Carlos nodded. "We talked about it. We're sure."

"All right." Rick told him, stepping forward to give him a gun and a box of ammo. "Box is half full."

Daryl couldn't believe it; they were _giving away_ guns and ammo! He scoffed and felt Rachael elbow him in the ribs.

Rachael hugged Miranda and Carlos, and then gestured to both of their children.

"Hey, can I get a hug?" She was fighting back tears now, she hadn't been particularly close with their family, but nowadays saying goodbye to someone meant you probably wouldn't see them again… She'd learned that early on.

The children nodded and climbed up onto her lap. She pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads. "Stay safe alright?" They nodded and Carlos lifted them off her lap.

Elisa gave Sophia her doll, and Rick turned to Carlos.  
"Channel 40, if you change your minds, alright?"

"Come on, let's go. Let's move out." Shane directed.

Daryl put Rachael in their car, and they drove off.

She was lost in thought, the group had lost so many people, and she would've died if Daryl hadn't shown up. She shook her head; he was going to teach her how to shoot. She wouldn't be helpless anymore… But she wasn't going to wait around till then to tell him how she felt. If something happened to her, she didn't want to die with things unsaid.

"Daryl." She said his name softly.

When he turned to look at her, Rachael slid over and pressed her lips against his.

"I've- I've wanted to do that for a long time and, um… if you don't feel the same way-

He cut her off by pulling her in and giving her another kiss. When he pulled back, all he said was "Shut up."

Rachael couldn't help but smile.


	13. Goodbye Jim

**A/N: Sorry for the long time in between posts, I was bouncing back from a really vicious review. (I ended up deleting it) Thank you to the 3 guest reviewers that shared their support, it means a lot. I have a question to ask all of you: What would you like to see in this story? PM me suggestions.**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

The group drove for a few hours before the sound of the R.V. horn caused them to regroup.

As soon as Daryl carried her out, Rachael saw why they had stopped. Smoke was pouring out of the front of the R.V., with Rick and Dale trying to figure out how to fix it.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose." The older man was saying. "I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked hopefully, praying that Dale could fix the hose well enough to get them to the CDC.

"That's all it's been so far." Dale replied. " It's more duct tape than hose."

"I see somethin' up ahead." Shane stated, looking though his binoculars. "A gas station if we're lucky."

"Y'all, Jim- its bad. I don't think he can take anymore." Jacqui had stepped out of the R.V. and was addressing the group.

"Hey, Rick, you wanna hold down the fort?" Shane asked, hoping to gather more supplies and fuel. "I'll drive ahead; see what I can bring back."

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up." T-dog told him.

"Y'all keep your eyes open now." Shane advised, as if they weren't already scanning their surroundings. "We'll be right back."

Rick entered the R.V. to check on Jim, and when he stepped out a few minutes later, Lori turned to him.

"How is he?"

"He says he wants to be left behind." Rick stated solemnly.

They all stared at him in shock.

* * *

Carol broke the silence. "He's lucid?"

"He seems to be." Rick's reply was so quiet they almost didn't hear it. "I would say yes."

"We just leave him here? We take off?" Shane voiced his concern. " Man, I'm not sure I can live with that. "

"It's not your call." Lori interjected. "Either one of you."

* * *

Rick and Shane had propped Jim up against a tree and the rest of the group had come with them.

Shane crouched down to Jim's level. "Hey Jim—I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this."

"No." Jim rasped. "It's good. The breeze feels nice."

"Okay . All right." Shane accepted that Jim was staying as he stood up.

Jacqui stepped forward and bent down to talk to Jim. " Just close your eyes sweetie. Don't fight." She began to tear up as she pressed a kiss to Jim's cheek.

Rick stepped forward to offer Jim one of the handguns. "Jim, do you want this?"

"No." He replied weakly. "You'll need it. I'm okay."

Dale stepped up next. "Thanks for- uh- for fighting for us."

Jim gave a slight nod. "Okay."

As everyone else drifted back toward the cars, Rachael looked up at the man who was holding her. "Could you-" She gestured to Jim.

Daryl nodded, stepped forward, and crouched down so she could talk to Jim.

"Hey." She began quietly. "Wanting to find your family, I can understand that. I hope you do, find them I mean. You're-"

Her voice began to crack, but she continued.

"You're a good man."

"Thanks." Was his reply.

Daryl gave him a nod, and carried Rachael back to the car.

* * *

They drove until they reached the CDC.

As soon as Daryl carried her towards the building, the smell of rotting flesh hit her nose.

He could tell she was gagging, despite trying to hold in the contents of her stomach. He looked her right in the eye.

"Not now. Ya can't right now."

She nodded and fought back the nausea that was growing worse as they passed more bodies.

When they finally got up to the entrance, the group found that there were large metal shutters pulled down. They had no way in.

"Walkers!" Daryl could see one of them coming toward the group. Shit. There was probably more coming. He quickly passed Rachael to Jacqui, and fired an arrow through the walker's skull.

He didn't see anymore, and he turned to Rick, fuming at the position the group had been put in.

"YOU LED US INTO A GRAVEYARD!" He yelled as he lunged at Rick.

"HE MADE A CALL! " Shane argued as he held Daryl back.

"IT WAS THE WRONG DAMN CALL!"

"SHUT UP! DO YOU HEAR ME,SHUT UP!" Shane pushed Daryl back, then turned to Rick.

"This is a dead end. Do you hear me? No blame."

"We can't be this close to the city after dark." Lori stated.

"Fort Benning- Rick, still an option." Shane suggested.

"Forget Fort Benning." Lori shot back. "We need answers tonight."

Everyone began to head back to the cars when Rick stopped them. "The camera, it moved."

"Rick, its dead, man." Rick began to bang on the door despite Shane's protests.

"Please, please help us. We have women, children. No food. Hardly any gas left.

Shane grabbed Rick and began pulling him toward the cars.

"IF YOU DON'T LET US IN YOU'RE KILLING US! PLEASE!"

The group headed for the cars, when all of a sudden the shutters opened and they were bathed in light.


	14. Safe

**A/N: Hey Guys, Sorry I took so long to get this chapter up. My whole family had the flu & we've been recovering. Anyways, enjoy the chapter. Reviews keep me going! :)**

The group stepped cautiously into the CDC, as Rick called out to the person that had opened the doors.

"Hello? Anybody here?"

After a few minutes, they heard the all too common sound of a gun cocking. Rick and Glenn quickly trained their guns on the man poised to shoot them. Rachael could feel Daryl tighten his grip on her.

"Anybody infected?" The man asked, still not lowering his weapon.

"One of our group was." Rick replied. "He didn't make it."

"What about her?" The stranger eyed Rachael suspiciously.

"Cerebral Palsy." She replied quickly, raising her weak hand to prove it. "That's why I'm being carried. I haven't been bitten, I swear."

"Why are you here? What do you want?" His next two questions were directed at Rick.

"A chance." Was their leader's response.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." He shot back.

"I know." Rick admitted.

The man paused, looking at everyone in the group before finally breaking the silence. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick agreed.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now." The man ordered. "Once this door closes, it stays closed."

Daryl quickly passed Rachael to Jacqui, and went to grab their stuff along with the other men in the group.

They came back a few minutes later with the group's bags and suitcases. Rick introduced himself to their host after he locked the doors.

"Rick Grimes."

"Dr. Edwin Jenner."

Daryl took Rachael from Jacqui, and the group made their way down the hall and into an elevator.

Daryl eyed the gun strapped to Jenner's shoulder. "Doctors always go around packin' heat like that?"

"There were plenty left lying around, I familiarized myself." He stated.

The elevator stopped after a minute and the group stepped out into a white cinderblock hallway.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked anxiously.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner questioned.

"A little." She confessed.

"Try not to think about it." He said, as he led them down the hall.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Immediately after Jenner said this, the lights came on one by one.

"Welcome to zone 5." He told them.

"Where is everybody?" Rick inquired. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it." Jenner responded. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked him. "Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests." He commanded. "Tell them… Welcome."

"Hello, guests. Welcome." A computerized female voice stated.

"I'm all that's left." Jenner told them. "I'm sorry."

The group was led into a room where they all had blood drawn. Andrea was the last person to have a blood sample taken, and if Jacqui hadn't steadied her, she probably would have passed out. Jenner seemed to notice this, and immediately asked if she was okay.

"She hasn't eaten in days." Jacqui explained. "None of us have."

* * *

The women, with the exception of Andrea, headed to the rec room while their host prepared dinner. Lori sat Rachael down on one of the couches and turned to her.

"So… How are things with Daryl?" She questioned, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Rachael blushed. "Things are nice, nothing too… _Exciting _going on, but things are nice."

Lori scoffed. "I came to check on you guys yesterday morning, you were curled into his chest and his arms were wrapped around you. There is definitely something _exciting_ going on."

There were a few "Ooh's" from Carol and Jacqui, but the youngest woman just shook her head and laughed. "I think it's more him being protective than deliberately being romantic, I mean, there's something between us, I guess… But we've never really talked about it, and I don't wanna rush things and end up pushing him away. You know?"

The other women nodded, and Lori put a hand on her good friend's shoulder.

"He likes you… He may not admit it, but he does. "

Rachael smirked. "I hope so."

The women talked for another half an hour. They were in the middle of discussing their host and the CDC itself, when Rick walked in.

"Ladies, dinner's ready."

Their stomachs growled at the prospect of food, and Rick picked Rachael up and eagerly led the others to the dining room.

* * *

Jenner had prepared spaghetti, and wine to go with it. Rachael didn't drink however, choosing to have a glass of Coke along with Carl.

"One glass of wine couldn't hurt." Dale insisted, holding the bottle out to her.

Rachael shook her head. "I don't drink. I'll stick to my Coke."

Dale didn't push any farther, turning to Carl instead.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France."

Lori shook her head. "Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then."

"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick asked. "Come on."

"Fine." Lori caved, and Dale handed Carl a glass with a little wine in it.

"There you are, young lad."

They all watched Carl's face as he took a sip. "Eww!"

His reaction elicited a chorus of laughter from the rest of the group.

"You should stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane told him.

"Not you Glenn." Daryl stated.

"What?" Glenn asked, clearly confused.

"Keep drinking, little man." Daryl replied with a smirk. "I wanna see how red your face can get."

The men chuckled. Rick stood and clinked his glass.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly." Rick declared.

"He is more than just our host." T- Dog cut in.

"Hear hear!" Dale agreed.

"Booyah!" Daryl cheered.

The group smiled and echoed him. "Booyah!"

Shane cut the happy celebration short. "So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" He questioned bitterly. "All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating Shane." Rick tried to prevent a heated discussion. "We don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right?" Shane spat back. "This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him. We found one man. Why?"

"When things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went home to be with their families." Jenner explained solemnly. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane inquired.

"No." Jenner corrected. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They… Opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave." Andrea noted. "Why?"

"I just kept working." He responded. "Hoping to do some good."

Glenn looked at Shane. "Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man."

* * *

After dinner, the group was shown to the bedrooms and told to conserve the power and hot water.

Rachael wished she could shower, and Carol must have read her mind because she came over.

"Do you want me to help you shower off?"

Rachael felt awkward. "You don't have to do-"

Carol gently cut her off. "It's fine. There's no shame in needing help."

The younger woman nodded. "All right. Thank you."

The shower was brief, and after Carol helped her dress, she carried Rachael into the room she shared with Daryl. Rachael nodded her thanks, and after her friend left the room, she turned to face Daryl.

"Somethin' wrong?" He asked, seeing the worried expression on her face.

"Do you think we're safe here?" She looked up into his deep blue eyes, searching for an answer.

"Don' know." He replied honestly. "But nothin's gonna happen ta ya while I'm around."

He wrapped a protective arm around her, and soon they were asleep.


	15. TS-19

**A/N: I'm so unbelievably sorry. This took even longer than usual to post. All I can say is, I've been really busy with stuff, and this half of the episode was longer & took longer to write. I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it. :) Enjoy!**

Daryl woke early the next morning, being careful not to move too much. The light, familiar weight of Rachael's head was on his chest and he didn't want to wake her.

"Hey." Her usual morning greeting reached his ears. Shit. He had _really_ been hoping she would get more sleep.

"Hey. Did ya sleep okay?" He looked into her eyes, searching them for any signs of the exhaustion that had been there for days.

"I slept okay; my body's just used to waking up earlier now." She let out a small sigh. "Guess I'll just have to get used to it."

He nodded. "Let's go get somethin' ta eat then. I think everybody else is already up."

* * *

He carried her into the dining room, where Rick greeted them. "Morning."

"Are you hungover?" Carl asked his father innocently. "Mom said you'd be."

Their leader shared a glance with his wife, smirking a little. "Mom is right."

"Mom has that annoying habit." Lori joked.

Carl turned to Rachael. "Is that why you didn't drink last night?"

The young woman smiled. "Yep."

"Don't rub it in." Glenn groaned. "Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again."

"Eggs." T- Dog announced, as he scooped some onto everyone's plate. "Powdered, but I do 'em _good_. I bet you can't tell, and the protein should help the hangover."

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked, referring to the bounty of food before them. In addition to the eggs T-Dog had prepared, there was bacon, toast, orange juice, and coffee to choose from.

"Jenner." Lori explained. "He thought we could use it." She paused, glancing at Glenn, who was too hungover to eat anything. "Some of us at least."

The group turned their attention to the door as Shane walked in.

"Hey." Shane greeted his best friend.

"Hey. Feel as bad as I do?" Rick questioned.

"Worse." Shane responded.

"What the hell happened to you?" T- Dog asked him. "Your neck?"

Rachael looked at the former sheriff's deputy curiously, T- Dog was right; he had several scratches on his neck. They looked pretty painful.

Shane shrugged it off. "Must have done it in my sleep."

"Never seen you do that before." Rick told him.

"Me neither." He replied, casting a glance at Lori. "Not like me at all."

Dr. Jenner entered shortly after. "Morning."

Dale stood up. "Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-"

Jenner cut him off. "But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea told him.

* * *

After they finished eating, Jenner led the group to a large room with several computers and a projection screen.

"Give me playback of TS-19." He instructed Vi.

"Playback of TS-19." The computer echoed him, as an image of what Rachael guessed was a brain scan came up on the screen.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this." Jenner told them. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked in surprise.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner responded. "Not that it matters in the end."

"Take us in for E.I. V." Jenner directed.

"Enhanced internal view." Vi said, as the image pushed in to reveal the neurons.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked, referring to the glowing spots that were coursing their way through the brain.

"It's a person's life-" Jenner told them. "Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you- The thing that makes you unique, and human."

"You don't make sense, ever?" Daryl asked him.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages." He explained. "They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth, to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick stepped forward. "That's what this is, a vigil?"

"Yes." Jenner affirmed. "Or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea sounded shocked. "Who?"

"Test subject 19." He spoke with a faraway look in his eyes. "Someone who was bitten and infected… And volunteered to have us record the process." "Vi, scan forward to the first event." He commanded.

"Scanning to first event." The computer said, as a dark black color began to invade the brain. Rachael gasped from her place in Daryl's arms.

"What is that?" Glenn asked, awestruck.

"It invades the brain like meningitis." The blonde doctor explained, as the head on the screen started to shift. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death."

The brain had gone completely black. The head had stopped moving. Rachael was horrified. This was what the virus did to a brain? She knew it was horrible, but she had never pictured this.

"Everything you ever were or ever will be… Gone."

Rachael took a deep, shuddering breath. Now she knew. This was what had happened to them. There was nothing left of the parents she once knew. Daryl must have heard her, because he looked down at her and whispered.

"Don' think about 'em like that."

She nodded, not allowing the tears to come, and forced herself to look at the screen.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother.

"Yes." Carol replied simply.

Andrea sniffled, and Jenner looked at her questioningly.

"She lost somebody two days ago." Lori explained. "Her sister."

"I lost somebody too." Jenner said sympathetically. "I know how devastating it is."

"Scan to second event." He commanded.

"Scanning to second event." Vi stated, as the image on the screen changed.

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours."

He paused, the faraway look returning.

"In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute… Seven seconds."

The group watched in amazement as a faint red glow began to spread through the brain.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"No, just the brain stem." Jenner corrected. "Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick inquired.

The doctor gestured to the screen. "You tell me."

"It's nothing like before." Rick told him. "Most of that brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The human part- That doesn't come back. The _you_ part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct. "

All of a sudden, a bright flash of light appeared on screen, and a hole tore through the skull.

Rachael jumped in surprise, and Daryl tightened his grip on her.

"God. What was that? "Carol questioned.

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea told her, turning to the doctor. "Didn't you?"

Jenner avoided the question. "Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations."

Vi did as she was told, and Andrea continued to demand answers from their host.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?"

"It could be microbial, fungal, parasitic." He answered.

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui questioned.

"There is that." He responded.

"Somebody must know something." Andrea pressed. "Somebody, somewhere!"

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol prayed the answer was yes.

"There may be some." He hesitated. "People like me."

"But you don't know?" Rick interjected. "How could you not know?"

"Everything went down." He explained. "Communications, directives- All of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

"So it's not just here." Andrea stated bleakly. "There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?"

They received silence in response.

"I don't believe that." Rachael's voice was so quiet only Daryl heard her.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but…" Dale started. "That clock- It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The basement generators- they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked, concerned. When he received more silence in response, he looked to Vi. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." Vi answered him.

* * *

Rick, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog all formed a group to go check the generators, while Daryl carried Rachael back to their room and sat on the bed beside her. He could tell by the look on her face she was deep in thought.

When she finally stopped thinking about past memories, she looked up at him.

He met her gaze, and he wasn't surprised to find her eyes still glistening with unshed tears. He finally broke the silence.

"Are ya all right?"

"Yeah, I'm- I'm fine." She fought to keep her composure. "I was just hoping that, maybe, they didn't suffer. That maybe, if they're still out there, if they haven't been…"

She took a shuddering breath. "Put down, there would still be some part of them that knew who they were. Now I know there's not, so…"

She couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and she leaned against him as they finally began to fall.

Damn. He had never been good with a crying woman.

"Shh. I've got ya." He tried his best to soothe her as he handed her a tissue to wipe her eyes.

She sniffled, trying to regain control over her emotions, and changed the subject. "I've got a bad feeling about this place. Vi said something about ' facility-wide decontamination', and Jenner wouldn't even elaborate. I really don't feel safe here, Daryl."

"Hey, ya think I'm gonna let anythin' happen ta ya?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

"No." She smiled at him. "I'm just saying Jenner doesn't exactly seem stable."

His eyes narrowed. "He tries ta pull somethin' on this group, I'll kill him."

She didn't respond, realizing the room wasn't as cool as is had been earlier."I think the air just kicked off. We should check with somebody else, make sure it's not just our room."

* * *

He grunted in reply, and they headed down the hall to Lori and Rick's room.

"Hey." The young woman greeted Lori and Carl.

"Hey, did the air conditioning stop for you guys too?" Carl wondered.

"Yeah." Rachael looked around, wondering if anything else would turn off.

As if reading her thoughts, the lights flickered and died seconds later.

"What the hell's goin' on?" Daryl growled, picking Rachael up and stepping out into the hall with Lori and Carl.

Jenner walked past the group, and they immediately asked him why everything was turned off.

"Energy use is being prioritized." He replied.

Dale was shocked. "Air isn't a priority? And lights?"

"It's not up to me." Jenner told him. "Zone 5 is shutting itself down." The group followed him as he walked down the hallway.

"Hey!" Daryl barked after him. "Hey, what the hell does that mean?"

Jenner just continued to walk down the hall.

Daryl began to walk quicker, determined to keep up with him.

"Hey, man, I'm talkin' to ya. What do ya mean it's shuttin' itself down? How can a bulidin' do anythin'?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner told him flatly.

"Rick?" Rachael heard her friend call to her husband as they ran to meet him.

Once he was close enough, their leader got into the blonde man's face.

"Jenner, what's happening?"

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power." Jenner explained. "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half hour mark. Right on schedule."

Rachael panicked, this wasn't good. She couldn't shake the awful feeling that they were trapped. Her mind raced so much she couldn't even pay attention to what Jenner was saying. She barely registered Rick telling them to get their bags, that they were getting out of there.

An alarm blared, shaking her out of her thoughts and causing her to flinch.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." Vi stated.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go!" Shane yelled over the alarm.

The group started running for the exits, but just as they reached one, a metal shutter came up. Rachael's panic intensified; they were sealed in.

Daryl quickly passed the small young woman in his arms to Lori, before charging at Jenner, armed with the bottle the man had given him earlier.

"YA SON OF A BITCH! YA LOCKED US IN HERE!"

T- Dog and Shane held Daryl back, as Rachael watched in shock. They were _locked in_. He had _locked them in._ Her mind began racing again, she could hear Jenner yelling, but she couldn't quite make out the words, only a single sentence. "It sets the air on fire."

The next thing she was aware of was Rick wrapping his arms around both of them, and the sound of the children crying snapping her out of her daze.

"Lori!" She hugged her friend and began to shake. They were going to _die_. A clearly unstable doctor had _locked them in_, and they were going to _ die_.

Her mind went blank, slipping into a daze again, until a question was directed at her.

"…And you, would you really rather die out there? Unable to run? A burden to those who protect you?"

"Hey!" Lori interjected angrily. " She is _not _a burden!"

Rachael finally focused enough to answer his question. "I would rather take my chances out there than quit! If I'm gonna die, so be it, but I'm _not _gonna sit around and give up!"

With the question answered, she gave into the adrenaline coursing through her, and zoned out again.

She was semi-aware of Lori moving quickly away from the spot they were in, and of Shane, firing a gun, but none of it fully registered.

She didn't want to die, not like this. That was the one clear thought in the haze of adrenaline she was lost in.

* * *

Rachael was finally snapped back to the present when she heard the shutter open. Daryl ran over, taking her from Lori and running back to the door.

"COME ON!" He yelled it hurriedly to the others, who bolted to join them.

Jenner whispered something to their leader, who then ran to join the rest of them.

Jacqui told them she was staying, despite T-Dog's protests.

Andrea chose to stay too, and Rachael assumed Dale was staying; he urged the rest of them to go on, but didn't follow them.

Daryl didn't wait to be told twice, he sprinted up the four floors of stairs with her in his arms, the remaining rest of the group following closely behind him.

When they finally got to the top floor, the men tried everything they could to get the doors open, and when that didn't work, they tried busting open the windows.

This proved useless until Carol stepped forward.

"Rick, I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane said sarcastically. Rachael shot him a venomous look.

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." Carol told him, pulling out a grenade.

"LOOK OUT!" Rick yelled as he placed the grenade by the window.

Daryl dropped to the ground, covering Rachael to prevent any broken glass from cutting her.

The grenade exploded, shattering the window into several pieces.

Once they had climbed out the window, Daryl once again passed the 20 year old to Lori, taking out walkers as they made their way to the cars.

Daryl and Rachael got into their own car, and he put her on the floor of the vehicle just as the CDC was engulfed in a massive explosion.

After he figured they were safe, he carried her around to the passenger side.

"Look! Dale and Andrea made it out!" She told him, gesturing with a shaky hand.

When he looked at her, he noticed it wasn't just her hand that was shaking… It was her whole body. She was in shock, the adrenaline that had been rushing through her not quite out of her system yet.

"Hey, look at me."

She turned her head, meeting his gaze.

"Yer okay. Ya hear me?" she gave a slight nod.

"Nothin's gonna happen ta ya while I'm around."

He waited until she stopped shaking and then he drove off, following the caravan.


End file.
